The Apple AirPods Max were introduced in December 2020 with an eye-watering price of $550. Apple issued a modest update in 2024, replacing the Lightning port with USB-C and adding a few additional color options. Other than that, the AirPods Max remain largely unchanged.  That means as I write this review in 2026, Apple’s flagship headphones are more than five years old.  With so many new headphone options available today, you might reasonably wonder whether AirPods Max are still worth buying in 2026.

Spoiler alert: they absolutely are — and here’s why.

PHYSICS

When it comes to sound reproduction, headphones are trying to accomplish a lot in an extremely limited amount of space. For decades, manufacturers have experimented with larger drivers, better materials, and increasingly complex hardware designs to overcome the inherent physical disadvantages headphones have compared to traditional speakers.

What Apple discovered is that the listening experience can be improved in a different way — not just through hardware, but through software-driven spatial manipulation of sound.  That computational audio is Apple’s secret sauce — and right now, no one does it better.  Even nearly after six years since the AirPods Max were first introduced.

Apple then pairs that processing with incredibly tight integration across its ecosystem. The result is a listening experience that simply doesn’t exist outside the walls of Apple’s walled garden.  Within that ecosystem, the AirPods Max become something more than just another pair of headphones — they become a product truly without peer.

BUILD QUALITY & AESTHETICS

In true Apple fashion, their most dominant products don’t simply function well…their functional art.  The aluminum and steel construction create a luxurious experience that not only stand out among a sea of plastic and rubber competitors, they create brand identity and association.  Yes, AirPods Max are heavier than many of their competitors.  But they are also extraordinarily comfortable.  I’m not likely to wear headphones more than the 2 to 3 hours that it takes to watch a movie or complete a flight.  I’ve never found them uncomfortable wearing them for that long.  When you do wear them in public they are sleek and understated yet instantly identifiable.  AirPods Max are one of the few headphones I don’t feel ridiculous wearing in public.

The removable ear cups in AirPods Max are both unique and typical Apple design genius.  Something that touches your body like the ear cups are eventually going to need replacing.  the OEM ear cups are quite absorbent so they will discover with both oils and sweat that are absorbed.  There are also third-party options which are less absorbent for use when exercising.

The replaceable AirPods Max ear cups are held in place magnetically.

SOUND QUALITY

Here’s what most tech reviewers and influencers don’t tell you.  Sound quality is extremely subjective, and heavily influenced by past experience.  If you’re anything like me you grew up with audio coming from your TV speakers, and bad OEM car speakers.  Apple attempts to replicate a near reference quality listening experience, but many consumers associate “good” audio with loud volume and thumping bass.  It wasn’t until I was in my 30’s and set up a proper home theater in my basement that I really understood what a “reference audio” experience is all about:

My home theater wasn’t just about watching movies.  It was fantastic for listening to reference quality audio as well.  Fast forward to the AirPods Max today, and I think they can provide about 90% of the same listening experience I used to get in my home theater.  Sure, you can’t reproduce the feel of low end frequencies crashing into your body from a subwoofer.  But the quality of the audio is nearly the same.  The best part?  My wife doesn’t get upset when I turn up the volume on my AirPods Max the way she did with my home theater.  I tend to use my AirPods Max even more for home theater than I do music listening.  They are nearly unparalleled when it comes to use with movies – particularly when connected to the latest iteration of AppleTV 4K.  It’s a life changing experience to watch something like the Apple produced F1 movie, or their AppleTV show Monarch:  Legacy Of Monsters, or about any movie with a soundtrack recorded in Dolby Atmos.

LOSSLESS AUDIO

Around March/April 2025, Apple released a firmware update alongside iOS 18.4 / macOS Sequoia 15.4 that finally enabled 24-bit / 48 kHz lossless audio when the headphones are connected with a USB-C cable or USB-C to 3.5mm cable.  For many audiophiles, this is one of the most important capabilities of the AirPods Max, and it’s only been around for about a year.  When lossless audio is enabled, the audio data is compressed in a way that allows it to be reconstructed perfectly, bit-for-bit identical to the original.  When AirPods Max are connected over Bluetooth, the audio is transmitted using the Advanced Audio Coding compression codec, or AAC.   Apple’s AAC implementation is widely considered one of the best Bluetooth codecs because:

• Apple controls both encoder and decoder
• The bitrate is relatively high (~256 kbps)
• stereo stability and tonal balance

But as great as AAC is, you’re still loosing information due to data compression – that’s why AAC is a “lossy” codex.  So will you hear a tremendous difference music transmitted via AAC over Bluetooth or losslessly via a wired connection?  I can only tell you my experience – and it’s not huge.  The sound stage sounds “bigger” when listening to a lossless track vs. AAC.  If you have a trained ear, you may notice some differences in the high end of the “highs” of a recording as well as the low-end of the “lows” thanks to increased dynamic range.  But it’s something you have to really listen for with intent.  It’s not a life-altering difference for certain.  The great thing is almost the entire Apple catalog is lossless.  If you ever uncertain, just look for the “lossless” badge on the recording you’re listening to in Apple Music:

NEGATIVES

Perhaps the most obvious negative to the Apple AirPods Max is that if you aren’t already in the Apple ecosystem then you’ll be missing out on a lot of what AirPods Max has to offer.  So if you’re a Windows/Android person, you’ll want to either come to the dark side of MacOS/iOS or look elsewhere.

Some consider the price a big negative.  Price is relative – ever look at a pair of Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H100 headphones?  They’re $2200 as of this writing.  Suddenly, $550.00 for the AirPods Max doesn’t seem so bad.  And you can get AirPods Max for less than $550 these days – I got mine for $450.00 from Amazon, but the price does fluctuate a bit.  

Perhaps the most enduring complaint about AirPods Max is the case:

The case doesn’t completely protect the AirPods Max, and the case is needed to put the AirPods Max in “low power” mode.  AirPods Max don’t have a true “off” setting (another common complaint) but you can reduce the battery drain to nearly zero by putting them in the included case.  This is pretty minor IMHO – there are plenty of aftermarket cases available for the AirPods Max that fully encase them.

Despite being nearly six years old, AirPods Max are still pretty tough to beat in 2026 and absolutely still worth it if you own Apple devices to use with these headphones.  Rumor has it that Apple will FINALLY be releasing a successor to AirPods Max sometime in 2027.  But I’ve got a feeling I’ll be hanging on to my current pair of AirPods Max for a long time to come.